I Chose Salus
Speech-Language Pathology
Hi! My name is Katie Leinenbach and I am a first-year Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) student at Salus University. I attended Bloomsburg University for my undergraduate studies, majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders and minors in Special Education and French.
I am pursuing a career in SLP because I have always wanted to work in a healthcare setting and be able to work with various populations. The good thing about SLP is that you’re never tied down to one specific setting. Additionally, as I have learned over the last semester, nothing beats the rewarding feeling of assisting someone in something as important as communication and language.
I had my eye on Salus University from the first day I started looking at graduate schools. The on-campus clinic, the Speech-Language Institute (SLI), allows students to get clinical experience very early on. This sounds daunting but I couldn’t have been more grateful for it. The faculty and staff are always there to support and educate you to be the best SLP you can be. Entering my second semester, I feel secure and prepared for what I am going to experience in the field, and I cannot wait to learn more about it!
My typical schedule depends on the day, but this semester, Wednesdays are my busy day. Every Wednesday, I wake up at 7:45 a.m., get dressed, and eat breakfast. This semester, I have the wonderful opportunity of going to We Rock The Spectrum in Northeast Philly with a couple of my colleagues. Here, we conduct a 45-minute session with about 10-15 toddlers, providing early intervention and exposure therapy. This is from 9:30-10:15 a.m. After this, we debrief with our clinical educator and begin to plan for next week’s session.
After leaving We Rock the Spectrum, I drive myself to Salus and meet up with several other members of my cohort in SLI from 11:30 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. While I don’t have any clients during this time at the moment, I am hoping to get another one soon!
From 2:00-3:00 p.m., I usually sit in the library, eat some lunch, and try to get some work done.
At 3:00 p.m., I have my Clinical Practicum class. In this class, we talk about improving our professional careers. We learn about writing proper goals for clients, perfecting Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan (SOAP) notes, adjusting our résumé, and much more.
Starting at 4:00 p.m. this semester, we have Anatomy. This class usually lasts two hours, but on certain days, it will last an extra hour because we have a cadaver lab. While we have not had this scheduled meeting yet, I am super excited for it!
After class ends, I drive home and usually get home around 6:30 p.m. I make dinner and watch Jeopardy with my parents (unless the Eagles or Phillies are on).
I usually head up to my room with my dog at around 8:00 p.m. I finish any schoolwork I need to do for the next day, or clinical work that I can get a head start on for Friday. Most nights I will watch an episode or two of TV or read a couple chapters of my book. Lights out by 11:00 p.m.!
